


Blood and Bruises and Broken Bones

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boxing, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Lots of side relationships, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-30
Updated: 2013-09-30
Packaged: 2017-12-28 01:08:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/985843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren finds a passion in punching people for sport.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood and Bruises and Broken Bones

Eren gave an angry huff, and stared at the clock on his phone. Lunch had just barely started, and he already wanted to go home. After lunch he had gym, and today they were supposed to run the mile - Eren did not want to run that mile. 

Of course, he could’ve just left, but Mikasa would probably kill him. With another exasperated sigh, he replaced his phone in his pocket and shuffled through the hall and up the stairs to his locker. He dropped his books into the small space with a thud, slamming the metal door shut and replacing the lock. He pulled his phone back out, hoping that somehow, more than just a minute had passed. Exactly one minute had passed. He scowled at the small screen, and sent Armin a text to see if he was anywhere other than the library. Apparently, he had just left the library, and so they agreed to meet at the cafeteria. Eren made his way back downstairs with heavy, frustrated steps.

The cafeteria was loud and hot, but it was nicer than the other parts of the school, where in which it was freezing cold. Armin sat across from Eren, a pile of books occupying the space next to the blonde boy. Beside that sat Mikasa, somehow still wearing the scarf Eren had given her. It had shrunk considerably as she grew, and what once covered her face up to her nose now only rested across her shoulders, leaving her neck exposed. It seemed like it would be far too hot for that scarf.

Armin talked excitedly about one of the books in the stack next to him, and Eren felt bad that he wasn’t really listening. Instead, he stared at the clock on the wall and willed it to tick faster. He wasn’t paying much attention to the lunch Mikasa had brought him, either. Mikasa noticed his refusal to eat, and had pulled the top slice of bread off of his sandwich and shoved it in his mouth, causing him to stutter and nearly choke. The bell finally rang as he swallowed hard, nearly in tears. He glared at Mikasa, and she gave him a blank response. She put the rest of the uneaten sandwich away in its plastic baggie. Eren sputtered when said baggie hit him in the face, and shoved it harshly into his bag, glaring again at his sister. She was already leaving, though and Armin was too preoccupied with his books to notice Eren's anger.

In an odd rush, Eren set off for the gym. The quicker he got to class, the quicker he could leave. When he got to the locker room, there were already a few people there. Eren’s locker was on the far wall, beneath the only window in the small room. The locker just to the right of his was owned by the bane of his existence, Jean Kirschtein. Perhaps that was exaggerating, but he hated Jean and Jean hated him. On Jean’s other side, the locker was owned by Marco Bodt, Jean’s boyfriend. Marco was the nicest person Eren knew, and he couldn’t figure out why he would ever date an ass like Jean.

The bank of lockers across from Eren was occupied first by Reiner Braun, the wrestler who single handedly succeeded in several tournaments, taking first prize for the school many times. Next to him was Bertholdt Fubar, the tall sweaty one who was dating Reiner, and looked perpetually nervous. Finally, there was Connie Springer, the bald headed wisecrack, who had trouble keeping his trap shut. Aside from Jean, a good group. Armin had taken gym over the summer to make room for some other class he was intent on.

Marco was already dressed in his gym uniform and was waiting for Jean to shove his unusually-full backpack into the locker, looking slightly miffed, but still smiling. Connie was… Well, Eren wasn’t really sure what he was doing. He stood on one of the benches, waving his gym shorts around, dressed in only his shirt and underwear.

Bert was struggling to tie his shoe, already sweating profusely, and Reiner held his other shoe, trying to decipher the complicated knot in the laces. Eren was about to walk out to the gym if it weren’t for Connie, now wearing pants, chiming in about boxing.  He was talking excitedly to Reiner, still struggling with Bert’s shoe, about a local match that was supposed to take place that weekend. The main event was to be between professionals from Sina Martial Arts and Rose Boxing, after the amateur rounds.

Reiner’s interest was piqued and he finally dealt with the shoe, handing it back to Bert. Reiner had fought for Maria Boxing Academy before it went out of business and had been looking for a new school. Sina was known for its prestigious fighters, though they didn’t compete often. Rose’s fighters were just as exceptional, but they had more experience in competition. Eren had never actually seen them fight, but he heard great things about them constantly.

“So you coming or what?” Connie asked, bouncing up and down on his toes, throwing light punches into Reiner’s arm. Reiner shrugged him off, pulling his own shirt off and tossing it in his locker. Connie switched to hitting his back as Reiner dug around for his gym shirt. Finally, he turned, and Connie landed a hit square in the stomach. Reiner grinned at the small, audible thump the hit had made before putting on his shirt and giving a nonchalant shrug.

“Yeah, why not? I’ll come.” Connie’s smile grew and he jumped around, turning over to his friends on the other side of the room.

“What about you guys? Wanna come watch a few fights?”

“Hell yeah!” Eren already looked excited as the group began to make their way to the gym. Jean shrugged, looking like he was faking disinterest, “Yeah, sure. Marco?” Marco grinned, “Sounds like fun.”

Connie looked at Bert for confirmation, even though everyone knew he was going since Reiner was. Bert nodded, giving a small smile, “I’m coming.”

Connie grinned, “Bring whoever you want, I’m bringing Sasha.” Eren smiled, too. He knew Mikasa would want to go, and he could probably convince Armin. He figured Reiner and Bert would bring Annie, who might drag Ymir and Christa along. Eren had a hard time seeing the small blonde girl at such a violent event, but she would probably go if Ymir did.

Eren’s mood dropped, though, when they got to the gym. He hated his gym teacher. He seemed like a drill sergeant who had the misfortune of getting stuck as a school teacher. The class was generally well behaved, though, because a step out of line meant they would run the whole period.

\---------------------------------------

Eren almost puked. He was not a runner. Reiner had finished the mile with six minutes seven seconds and looked like he could’ve kept running. Bert finished with seven thirty-six and then Jean with seven fifty-eight. Marco followed at eight twenty-one, then Connie at ten twenty-three, and finally Eren, at eleven forty-nine. Eren had finished last.

Shadis, the gym teacher, had chewed Eren out for it, and the incessant yelling had made him want to puke even more. Eventually, Shadis released the class to change, and Eren had hardly put his shoes on when the bell rang. He sighed in relief upon remembering that gym had been his last class, and then grinned inwardly at realizing it was Friday.

Tomorrow, they’d all go to the fights and Reiner would probably join a new boxing school. He realized there was a problem, though in that neither he, Armin, nor Mikasa could drive. Reiner, Bert, and Annie all could, and Eren wondered if Connie planned to try to get them to drive.

\---------------------------------------

The remainder of the day was uneventful, and mostly spent doing homework. To confirm Eren’s suspicions, he received a text from Connie later that night telling him that Annie, Reiner, and Bert would be driving and to coordinate with them who would take who. Which reminded Eren he needed to actually tell Mikasa and Armin their plan.

Armin was staying the night with Eren and Mikasa, and they all currently sat on the floor, surrounded by various sodas, snacks, and flash cards of every color.

“Oh, yeah. What are you guys doing tomorrow?” Eren looked up from his phone, finding Armin quizzing Mikasa.

“Nothing.” They spoke simultaneously, Armin flinging a card across the room.

“Wanna go watch a boxing match?”

“With who?” Armin looked like he wanted to go, but he seemed hesitant.

“Everyone. Connie, Sasha, Reiner, Bert, Annie, Ymir and Christa, I think, Jean, and Marco.”

“Do you want to go?” Mikasa deadpanned. She was always so serious.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll go, then. Armin?”

He considered it, shuffling through his flashcards, “Okay. I’ll go. How’re we getting there, though?”

“Reiner, Bert, and Annie are driving. I don’t know who’s taking who, though.”

“I’ll ask Annie to take me.” Mikasa stated, pulling out her phone. Armin did the same, “I’ll just see who still has space.” Eren looked back down at his phone, scrolling through his contacts. Upon finding Reiner’s, he sent him a message asking if there was still room in his car. Sure enough, he got a response within a few minutes, stating that he had got the last spot. Eren would be going with Connie, Sasha, and Reiner, which meant that if Mikasa was going with Annie, Armin would probably be with Bert.

“I’m going with Reiner. His car is full.”

“Annie is taking me, Ymir, and Christa.” As she spoke, Mikasa kept her eyes glued to her phone.

“Bert’s taking me, then.” Armin gave a small smile, “So who’s fighting?”

“I don’t know who exactly, but the main event is for some professionals from Sina and Rose.” Eren shrugged.

Armin looked impressed, but Mikasa remained deadpan as always, even when she spoke, “I’m hungry. Let’s get a pizza.”

“We just got one.” Armin looked vaguely concerned.

“That was four hours ago.” Eren pointed out, his statement punctuated with a low growl from his stomach.

They agreed to get another round of pizza, and the evening dragged on without a hitch. They all finally went to sleep around three AM, and in the morning, Eren was the last to wake up at eleven-thirty.

Once they were all awake, Mikasa made eggs and bagels, and they ate and watched silly cartoons about a sponge. After they cleaned up the mess of flashcards, they spent the next few hours playing Xbox, accompanied by Eren’s yelling.

Five-thirty rolled around and Eren nearly screamed when there was a knock. Mikasa answered the door, revealing a grinning Reiner.

“I can hear you yelling from out here.” Reiner crossed his arms and Eren’s cheeks turned a light pink. “Let’s go.” He nodded to the street behind him where his car was parked. From inside the car, Eren could see Connie and Sasha waving.

Eren nodded, tying his shoes on as Reiner spoke, “Bert and Annie were just a few minutes behind me, so they should be here soon.” Eren stood, and followed Reiner as he turned and made his way back to his car, confirming that he had his house key.

Sasha and Connie greeted him excitedly, and the drive downtown was loud and fun. Eren figured that Mikasa and Armin’s trips weren’t as exciting. Reiner pulled into the parking lot just before six, followed closely by Annie and Bert, and they all parked together. Connie handed out tickets in exchange for the twelve dollars they had each cost, and they made their way to the door.

\---------------------------------------

Inside, it was chaotic. The doors were positioned in the center of the wall, and directly forward from the doors, the ring was placed near the opposite wall. It was elevated about four feet, and the only decent lighting was positioned on the ring. One either side of the large building, a section was blocked off for the schools that were competing. Rose on the left, Sina on the right. Surrounding the ring on three sides, seats were set up four or five feet from the ring’s edge and reached nearly to the door. The ring’s fourth side was pushed about ten feet from the wall opposite the doors, and the space served as a sort of walkway between the crowded sides of the building.

The lighting was dim, and Eren suspected it would only get darker once the fights actually began. People milled around, the dull roar of conversation accompanying the music playing from speakers in the ceiling. In each of the schools’ designated areas, Eren could see the various fighters preparing for their fights. Everyone on Sina’s looked the same, all similar heights, builds, and all of them looked really good.

Eren didn’t realize he had been staring at Sina’s fighters until a loud clap caught his attention. Another short, sharp clap followed the first, and Eren followed the sound to Rose’s side of the building. A tall, blonde man wearing boxing mitts stood, and after a very brief pause, he smacked the mitts together again with a crack. He looked vaguely irritated, but still calm, as a short man approached him. The shorter man adjusted the white gauze wrapping his hands as the taller man raised the mitts, positioning them to be hit. He stood rigid, and Eren wondered if he was a fighter, too. The shorter man slid into his stance, raising his hands. He sent a fist flying forward, and it looked like the taller man had a bit of trouble keeping the mitts from flying back into his face.

Eren gasped and flinched at the hand suddenly waving in his face.

“Eren, come on. We’re trying to find seats.” Armin had been flapping his hand in Eren’s face, and Eren noted the rest of the group had already moved to the section of seats in front of Rose’s section.

“Oh. Okay. Sorry.” Eren followed Armin in pursuit of their group, which had managed to find a group of empty seats in the first two rows. Eren grinned. Seats close to the action.

Eren could see now that on either side of the doors, there were small venues to buy food. They all settled into their seats, Reiner, Bert, Annie, Eren, Armin, and Mikasa in the first row, and Connie, Sasha, Jean, Marco, Ymir, and Christa in the second row. By then, the room had darkened further and the ring looked brighter. Coaches from Rose and Sina had taken their place at their respective corners, and looked to be prepping their first fighters of the night. The blue corner, situated almost directly in front of where they sat, was Rose’s corner, and across the ring, Sina took the red corner. Eren noticed the tall, blonde man from earlier now stood on the edge of the ring, parting the ropes for his fighter. ‘So he was a coach.’

The room quieted as the intercom buzzed on and a metallic voice filled the building. It announced the fights were beginning, and introduced each of the fighters, their school, and their coach. Rose’s first fighter was Gunter Shulz, and the tall, blonde coach was Erwin Smith. Erwin looked calm and confident, and while Gunter looked a little nervous, he seemed to be in better condition than Sina’s fighter, who Eren guessed was fighting for the first time. Eren could hardly contain his excitement when the bell signaling the beginning of the first round rang out over the crowd.

**Author's Note:**

> I finally found a concept that I not only love, but know a thing or two about. So, here ya go.
> 
> Also, I apologize in advance for any issues with the formatting. My computer hates me.


End file.
